Photoprint washing apparatus



Aug. 10, 1937 w. H. DOUGLAS 2,089,349

PHOTOPRINT WASHING APPARATUS Filed May 6, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l Ii Hum INVENTOR.

' BY pf j ATTORNEYf Aug. 10, 1937.. w. H. DOUGLAS PHOTOPRINT WASHING APPARATUS Filed May 6, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 10, 1937 QUNITED STATES rATEnr OFFICE PHOTOPRINT WASHING APPARATUS William H. Douglas, Red Bank, N. J.

Application May 6, 1936, Serial No. 78,468

18 Claims.

This invention relates to photo-print washing apparatus in general and more particularly it provides a highly efficient means for quickly and thoroughly washing prints of the photostat variety which usually must be handled very rapidly in large quantities through the various steps of development, fixing, washing and drying.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of an improved device that will wash such prints progressively in rapid sequence and then convey'them.automatically in the order of their production to adrying machine.

"-A further object of the invention is to provide an'apparatus for the purpose specified that will l5 permit of each print being drawn by a conveyor means through a plurality of horizontally extended trays or containers each of which is constantly supplied with fresh running water so that the elimination .of destructive hypo from the prints may be complete and perfect.

.Vario us other objects and advantages of the invention will be in partapparent from an inspection of the accompanying drawings and the following particular description.

In thei'drawingsr Figure 1 isia diagrammatic side elevation of a portion of. the present invention shown partly in section; Figure 2 is a 'continuationof the View shown in Fig. 1. Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan .view of the conveyor on a somewhat larger scale Figure 4 is a side elevation ona still larger; scale, of the printco-nveyor in section as to certain parts thereof. Figure 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the engaging means open and ready to close upon the print. Figure 6 showsthe position of the print conveyor as it is drawn through the trays containing the water. Figure T is. a partial cross sectional view of the final tripping mechanism taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2. Figure 8 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. '7'.

With reference to the drawings, Ill designates oneside of asuitable frame in which a plurality of'trays ,l I,' l2 and I3 of substantial length and 45 width are supported, one'above the other in vertically spaced relation. These trays are arranged so as to slope towards the outlet openings [4 through which the water passes and dams I8 are removably installed near said openings to maintain the water at a given height; Other suitable means such as pipes (not shown): .are provided in connection'with inlet openings 23 in order to keep the traysco'nstantly flushed: with running water. An endlessapron or-belt [-5 of sufficient width 55 to accommodate the maximum size prints to be washed is mounted upon the rollers l6 and I? which are in turn mounted for rotation in the frame If] in any desirable manner. The roller l6, shaft 16a and sprocket gear 24 have a relatively fixed driving relation.

In addition to the rollers just mentioned, there are loosely mounted for rotation on their shafts 9, the rollers I9, 20, 2! and 22.

Adjacent the opposed ends of all of said rollers with the exception of roller l1, and in fixed relation with the shafts 9 thereof, I have provided a number of driving sprocket gears of which the gears 26, 25, 25, 21 and 28 as shown represent only those at the far end of each of said rollers and inasmuch as said rollers are of equal length, the set of gears at each end of the rollers respectively will be disposed in perfect alignment which is as it should be.

Upon the sets of gears at each end of the rollers respectively, there are mounted the endless chains 30 and 3|. It will be seen in Fig. 3 that these chains are disposed closely adjacent the edges of the apron I5. Also in Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that these conveyor chains are lead back and forth in a horizontal plane above and below the trays ll, [2, and I3 and driven in alternating directions as indicated by the arrows. A motor 32 drivably connected to the roller 20 by a suitable reduction gear train 33 operates both of said chains and said apron at one and the same speed which is about five feet per minute.

One of the principal features of the invention lies in the construction and mode of operation of what-will be hereinafter specifically referred to as the print conveyor now to be described and which is designated in general by the numeral 29. This device is adapted to engage and convey the prints separately and individually through the various trays of water and comprises two elongated side members 40 and M (Fig. 3) rigidly connected by a cross bar 42 of half-round section, said bar being provided with a number of spaced apart points 34 adapted to extend into suitable apertures 35 formed in a right-angular cross bar 53 pivotally mounted on said side members and ll at by means of integral lever arms 46 and 41 adapted to engage and to be actuated by the cams and 5| in a manner hereinafter to be described. This angular cross bar is also provided with a series of spaced apart buttons 48 adapted to prevent adhesion of the wet print 49 with the bar 43. It will be seen in Fig. 4 that the pivotal arrangement of this bar is such as to cause one of its fiat inner sides to normally contact with the flat upper side of the cross bar 42 in which position it will be yieldingly held by a spring 36.

The print conveyor just described is attachable to and between the chains 3|] and 3| by means of laterally extended pintels 31 and 38 with which the chains are provided at certain spaced intervals along their lengths so that a multiplicity of such conveyors may be utilized in the washing of the prints and it will be understood that these conveyors are swingable on these pintels in order that they may become submerged in the water of the trays in the manner shown.

Engagement with the chains may be effected by the spreading of the chains so that said pintels may enter the openings 39 provided in each of the side members.

Suitable ramps or print guides 52, 53, .54, and 55 have been provided at the ends of the trays in order to facilitate the passage of the prints along their course and to prevent the levers 45, 41 from being engaged and tripped by the edges of the trays and thus releasing the prints.

Laterally spaced apart resilient guides 56 so positioned as to engage only the side members 40 and 4| of the print conveyors in their travel around the various rollers are provided to prevent a sudden slap of the conveyors as they pass over the center of gravity.

With reference to Figs. 2, '7, and 8, a conveyor belt 51 (not a part of the present invention) is adapted to carry the washed prints to a suitable dryer. Two parallel spaced apart guide members 58 and 59 are disposed below the chains 35, 3| and are adapted to support the lower ends of the side members 4|], 4| whilst the print 49 is permitted to drag upon the belt 5'! as shown. When the print conveyor 29 has been moved to the horizontal position shown in Fig. 2, the trip levers. 43, 4'! are forced to engage a cam 60 which will open the print engaging mechanism and release theprint which will drop upon the belt 51. A rubber squeegee 6| may be provided to remove some of the surplus water.

The operation of the invention is as follows:

It being understood that the progressive rate of movement of the apron and the chains are one and the same, a print 49- still wet and saturated with hypo solution is laid upon the apron'with its leading edge resting uponthe buttons of the right-angular bar 43, and since there is no drag upon the print it will readily remain inthe position shown in Fig. 4. Now as the conveyor 29 reaches a position approximately over the roller I1, and under a fixed projection 66 which prevents the conveyor from rising, the lever arms 46,4 1 at either end of the bar 43 engage the fixed cam ele-' ments 50 and 5| which cause the bar 43 to be elevated to the position shown in Fig. 5 thus.

permitting the print to drop down upon the points 34. The lever arms now having passed over the cams, the bar 43 will snap back to its initial shafts 29 while the sprocketsha-ve a fixed relation with said shafts. The object of this construction is to permit relative-rotative motion between, said rollers and said, sprockets.

It will be understood:

that as the wet print contacts with any of the rollers considerable adhesion will be established, and in order to prevent undue drag upon the print at any stage of its travel, the roller has been made to rotate freely in conformity with any movement of the contacting print.

Mention has been made that the trays l2, and I3 are inclined towards the water outlets 4. It will be seen in Fig. 1 that the movement of the conveyor with its accompanying .print in each and every instance is in a direction towards the inlet 23 and opposed to the flow towards the outlet. The object of this provision was to facilitate as much as possible the removal of the chemicals with which the print had previously become saturated, andit can readily be appreciated that the action of the water will be greatly enhanced by causing it to flow across the surfaces thereof in themanner above stated. Also, it might be said in passing, that as the prints pass through the various trays in sequence, first one side. of the print and then the other side will be uppermost in the tray. 7

Attention is also directed to the fact that the conveyor chains are at'no time immersed in the water and accordingly will .remain constantly dry which is in itself an advantage that is obvious to those skilled in mechanics.

One-of the advantages derived from the use of the present improvedIprint washing apparatus, is that the prints do not become massed or clustered as they would if washed in a tank by conventional methods but to the contrary they pass through the washer and dryer-in the order and rotation of their production. To clarify this statement it might be said that in establishments where photostats are-made, voluminous documentsare often encountered'comprising. several hundred or more pages of which prints must be made of each individual page and finally -:aissembled 'in their proper numerical 'order. It can be appreciated that there will beconsiderable saving in time to'say the least'if the prints can be made, as in this case, to follow each other in "their proper rotation to the end. Anyone who i's familiar with this type of work wi'll'acknowled'gethat to -pro'perly assort a conglomeration of prints inthe'ir numerical order, many of which lack identifying indicia, is quite ata'sk.

Whereas the device as shown and des cribe'd is' intended primarily for the purpose or :providing the highest possible efliciency i'n thewashi'ng. of photoprints, the use of any of the features for purposes other than herein. specifically'l set forth is considered as being within the scope of the invention asfor instance the conveying of certain articles applicable tothistreatmenflthmug-h a series of trays or vats containing d'yes, chemicalsor-the like. i

- Furthermore, while I have shown and described and have pointed out in the annexed. claims certain novel features of 'my i'nvention, it is understood that. various-omissions, .substitutions and changes in 'formi and detail-for" the device illustrated and 'in its operation may be made by those skilled'in the art without de'parting from the spirit of the invention. 1

Having thus described 'my invention,Iiclaim-z' 1. In apparatus of the class. described; incombination, a'supportingframe', a plurality ofihorizontally disposed trays mounted in said frame in vertical spacedrelation, means tolprovide av flow of fluid in' said trays at a given height,. and a driven conveyor meanswoperating'adjacent each of said. trays in a directionalternatingwith thatl of the next adjacent tray and adapted to carry an object through all of said traysin sequence.

2. In apparatus of the class "described, in combination, a supporting frame; a plurality of vertically spaced apart trays; an endless conveyor means operated between said trays, automatic print engaging means swingably connected to said conveyor means and adapted to carry a print through each of said trays in sequence, and automatic print releasing means positioned at a predetermined point of its travel.

3. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a supporting frame, a plurality of horizontally arranged trays mounted in said frame in vertical spaced relation, means to provide a flow of fluid in said trays, an endless conveyor means operated between said trays, andautomatie print engaging means attachable to said conveyor means to carry the print through all of said trays in sequence.

'4. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a plurality of fluid containers arranged horizontally in vertical spaced relation, means to provide a flow of fluid in said trays, a continuous conveyor means so arranged'as to pass above and below each of said containers in alternating directions, and automatic print engaging means coacting with said conveyor means to carry a print through each of said containers in sequence. I

5. In apparatus of the class described-in combination, a plurality of trays having means to provide a continuous flow of fluid therein; said trays being arranged horizontally in vertical spaced relation, a driven conveyor means extending above and belowsaid trays, and engaging means suspended from the conveyor to carry a print through all of said trays in sequence.

6. In apparatus of the class describedyin combination, a plurality of trays having means to provide a continuous flow of fluid therein; said trays being arranged horizontally in a vertical spaced relation, a driven conveyor means extending above and below said trays and operated in alternating directions, print engaging means operated by said conveyor means to carry a print through each of said trays in sequence, and means to release said print at a predetermined point of its travel.

7. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a plurality of trays arranged in vertical spaced relation and longitudinally sloping, a continuous conveyor means traveling above each of said trays and mounted upon rotatable elements adapted to alternate the direction of travel thereof, means adapted to cause a fluid to flow in said trays in a direction opposed to the direction of travel of the conveyor means adjacent thereto, and print engaging means coacting with said conveyor means to carry the print through each of said trays in sequence.

8. A print washer comprising in combination, a supporting frame, an endless apron drivably mounted on rotatable elements, a plurality of horizontally arranged trays in vertical spaced relation mounted in said frame, a conveyor means drivably mounted one on each side of and adjacent to the edges of said apron and adapted for parallel operation in a plurality of horizontal planes in spaced relation back and forth between said trays, a driving means adapted to operate the apron and the conveyor at the same speed, and print engaging means coacting with the conveyor to carry a print through each of said trays in sequence.

9. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a print washing apparatus having a driven conveyor means and a print feeding apron, of a print conveyor adapted to be carried by said conveyor means and comprising a pair of normally closed resiliently held print engaging elements extending across said apron and adapted to be actuated to an open engaging or releasing position by a relatively passing cam element.

10. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a frame, a plurality of horizontally arranged trays in vertical spaced relation, a plurality of shafts, a roller for each shaft, a sprocket gear at the opposed ends of each of the rollers mounted on the shaft for rotation relative to the roller, an endless apron mounted on further rollers, a pair of endless conveyor chains disposed parallel and respectively adacent to the edges of said apron on the sprockets aligned therewith at the ends of said rollers, a means to drive said chains and apron at the same speed, at least one print conveyor adapted to be carried by said chains and comprising a pair of normally closed resiliently held print engaging elements adapted to be actuated to an open engaging position by a relatively passing cam means, and means to release the print by the action of further cam means.

11. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a pair of spaced apart driven conveyor elements, of a pair of side members each attachable to one of said conveyor elements, a cross bar rigidly connecting said side members, a relatively movable cross bar pivotally mounted at its ends to said side members and adapted for movement parallel to the first said bar, a spring means effective to resiliently hold said movable bar against the first said bar in a print gripping relation, lever arms at the ends of said movable bar adapted to'be engaged by a cam for operation thereof so as to engage or to release the print at predetermined points.

12. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a traveling apron and a conveyor, of a print engaging and conveying mechanism comprising a pair of cross bars pivotally connected to said conveyor for gravitational pressure upon said apron; one of said bars being laterally movable towards and away from the other in a manner as to provide a mutual clamping means, resilient means to normally maintain a pressure between said bars, and means adapted for contact with a relatively fixed element during operation for the momentary separation of said bars to either engage or to release said print.

13. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a pair of spaced apart driven conveyor elements, of a pair of elongated side members each pivotally attachable at one end to one of said conveyor elements, a cross bar having a flat side and rigidly connected at its ends to the side members, a further cross bar having a similar flat side arranged parallel to the first said bar and pivotally connected at each end to the side members by lever arms in a manner as to provide a print clamping engagement between said bars, and a spring means tending to normally maintain said engagement in a releasable manner; said lever arms adapted to effect a release of the engagement by contact with a fixed cam at a predetermined point.

14. In apparatus of the class described adapted for operation with a pair of spaced apart conveyor elements and a traveling feed apron, the combination of a pair of cross bars each having a side adapted for mutual engagement and extending from one of said conveyor elements to the other across said apron, side members each adapted for pivotal engagement with one of said conveyor elements and rigidly connected to one of said cross bars, leverarms rigidly connected to the ends of the other said cross bar and pivotally attached to the side members respectively, and spring means tending to normally maintain an engagement between said bars; said lever arms being provided with an extended portion adapted to engage for release a relatively fixed cam at a predetermined point of their travel.

15. In apparatus of the class described the combination with a pair of driven spaced apart endless chains and a feed apron therebetween both mounted in a supporting frame, of a pair of normally contacting separable cross bars providingprint engaging means extending across said apron and pivoted at either end to said chains, resilient means pressing said bars together, a cam means attached to said frame, and lever means adapted to contact with said cam means to cause separation of said bars.

, 16. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a pair of spaced apart conveyor elements, of a pair of print engaging cross bars extending from one of said elements to the other and adapted for conveyance therewith, side members each adapted for parallel disposition with said elements and pivotal thereon; each of said side members having a rigidly fixed relation with one of said cross bars, lever arms rigid with the other said cross bar and pivoted on said side members for parallel movement of said bar relative to the other, a spring means tending to maintainpressure between the bars, and means to re,- lease said pressure at a predetermined point of p 0 their travel by contact with a relatively fixed element. I

.17. In apparatusof the class: described, the combinationof an endless, traveling feedi apron, a pairv of endless chain conveyors disposed at the edges of said apron and operated at the same speed, a series of aligned sprockets arranged in a plane on either side of said apron; said chains being arranged on said sprockets in a manner as to provide a return bend therein so that portions of said chains will have a relatively opposed direction of movement in a vertically spaced relation, a plurality of horizontally disposed trays vertically spaced apart and supported in the spaces provided between the chains, a drive means for the operation of the apron and the chains, means to maintain a quantity of fluid in said trays, a print engaging means pivotally attachable to said chains and adapted to be automatically opened at a given point to receive a print moving with said apron and to convey said print through all of said trays in sequence, rollers coacting with said conveyor chains to carry the print around the return bends thereof together with said chains, guide means adapted to facilitate the passage of both the print and its engaging means over obstructions and around the rollers, and print releasing means provided at a predetermined point of its travel. v

18. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a series of trays arranged in vertical spaced relation and a spaced apart driven conveyor means passing adjacent thereto, of a mechanism adapted to automatically engage and release a print comprising a pair of clamping bars extending across the trays from one portion ,of the conveyor means to the other and pivoted thereon; said mechanism adapted to draw a print through all of said trays in sequence, and means to causesaid bars to relatively open or close at predetermined points of their travel.

WILLIAM H. DOUGLAS. 

